NHL Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire Rankings (10/15)

Welcome to the Week 2 Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire article here at FTN Fantasy. Each weekend I’ll preview the week to come in Fantasy Hockey. I’ll highlight some of the best waiver wire pickups, players to stash, players to buy low and sell high, which players to drop and who to stream. I’ll also highlight some of the injuries, what it means for you and the Fantasy Hockey landscape.

There are only three teams scheduled to play four games for the week, but there are five teams with only two games in Week 2 (Oct. 16 – Oct 22). It’s too early to cut players included in this year’s Fantasy Hockey Draft Guide, such as my sleepers, targets and breakouts. It’s also too early to give up on players, as we’re not even a week into the NHL season. 

It’s important to get the most out of your moves so you can take advantage of your opponents. The strategy I like to call “attacking the schedule” can be the difference in winning a championship. As mentioned, it’s a touch early to drop a player because they only play two games this week. But each week, find out which borderline players or streamers wouldn’t crack your lineup on the busy days on the schedule. Drop those players for players scheduled to play on the lighter scheduled nights. Those days are usually Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. If you’re in a shallow league or a roto league, this strategy may not mean that much to you. But if you’re not going to play an average player on a busy night like Thursday or Saturday, you’re better off dropping him for someone playing on those lighter days. This strategy is similar to “two-start” pitchers in Fantasy Baseball.

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My fantasy hockey rankings 

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Injuries

• Roope Hintz, DAL (hold)
• Matt Boldy, MIN (hold)
• Andrei Svechnikov (hold)
• Josh Norris (stash)
• Logan Couture (stash)
• Viktor Arvidsson, LA
• Pavel Buchnevich, STL
• Kirby Dach, MTL
• Alex Killorn, ANA (drop)
• Alex Pietrangelo, VGK (hold)
• Brandon Montour (hold)
• Aaron Ekblad (hold)
• Zach Werenski, CBJ
• Jared Spurgeon, MIN

Fantasy Hockey Waiver Wire 

The waiver wire consists of players owned in fewer than 60% of Yahoo leagues. They are ranked in order of how I value them for the rest of the season. I dug deep for those playing in NFHC High Stakes leagues and the percentage is the amount of FAAB I’d spend. Remember it’s a long season.

Bryan Rust, RW, Pittsburgh Penguins – 15-20%

Reilly Smith, W, Pittsburgh Penguins – 15-20%

These two wingers are most likely owned in most competitive leagues, but I’m here to tell you they are worthy of roster spots in shallower leagues as well. The Penguins have scored 11 goals in their first three games. Smith has goals in back-to-back games and looks amazing alongside Evgeni Malkin. Rust had a down season last year and still scored 20 goals. He has 20+ goals in four straight seasons. He already has three goals and six points on the season. You have to love that he plays with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel. Just don’t tail me when I bet on his shot prop.

Chandler Stephenson, C, Vegas Golden Knights – 10-15%

I see we’re doing this again with Stephenson. The Golden Knight has two goals, five points, two power-play points and five shots in three games. People slept on Stephenson in drafts last season, as he became one of the hot waiver-wire pickups in October. He began last season with 10 goals and 39 points in his first 39 games. He cooled off when Mark Stone was placed on LTIR. As long as Stone is around, Stephenson has the potential to be a point-per-game player. 

Boone Jenner, C/LW, Columbus Blue Jackets – 10-15%

Even if Boone Jenner didn’t score a hat trick this weekend, he’d be on this list as a pickup. Jenner was listed in the undervalued section of the draft guide and that’s exactly what he is. Jenner is a must-own player in leagues with shots, hits, and faceoff wins. He touches every category. 

Evan Rodrigues, C/LW, Florida Panthers – 5-10%

Rodrigues wasn’t really consistent with a loaded Avalanche team, but he’s getting a real shot on the Panthers’ first line. The winger picked up two goals, four points and four shots in his second game with Florida. One of those three points came on the power play, and he has over 12 minutes of PP time already. He’s on the point on the first PP, which he’ll lose when Brandon Montour returns, but he’s not expected back anytime soon. Sam Bennett also remains sidelined but wasn’t a lock to be on the first unit. It’s a long season, but I’d spend 5-10% of my FAAB for Rodrigues. 

Tyler Bertuzzi, LW, Toronto Maple Leafs – 5-10%

I won’t spend much time here on Bertuzzi, because he was also all over the Fantasy Hockey Draft Guide. Bertuzzi doesn’t have a 5v5 point yet despite playing with Auston Matthews who has six goals. However, Bertuzzi does have a power-play goal. The Leafs are loaded, so get a piece of them if you can.

Kirill Marchenko, RW, Columbus Blue Jackets – 5-10%

I suggested Marchenko in our draft kit because he’s a shooter. The winger scored 21 goals in 59 games last year as a rookie. He only had four assists. He already has three assists this season.

Gabriel Vilardi, C, Winnipeg Jets 5-10%

Most of the players listed here are owned in high stakes, but Vilardi is out there. He had an impressive seven shots on goal in his debut with Winnipeg. He logged 21:04 in that game and 20:35 in his second game. He has two more shots and an assist. He looks really good alongside Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele. He was our guy in the kit. His 14% ownership in Yahoo! will rise soon enough. Get ahead of it. He’ll also get winger eligibility soon.

Ivan Provorov, D, Columbus Blue Jackets – 2-5%

Provorov immediately jumped up to the first power play when Werenski suffered an injury and he’s been placed on IR. He dished out two assists in his last game and one came on the PP. He should be among the leaders on the team in ice time. The PP time is very valuable. 

Ryan O’Reilly, C, Nashville Predators – 2-5%

The Preds won’t score a lot of goals, but I’d roster O’Reilly in deep leagues that count FOW. He’s already won 38 in three games. He has a goal, two points, and nine shots. O’Reilly and Filip Forsberg have put a lot of pucks towards the goal in their three games together. 

Ivan Barbashev, C/LW, Vegas Golden Knights – 2-5%

Ivan was a late-round target in the kit. Love the upside next to Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchessault. You won’t get any power-play production, but he fits on the top line perfectly. He likes to shoot and hit. 

Deep League Adds

• Teuvo Teravainen, CAR
• Artturi Lehkonen, COL
• Oliver Bjorkstrand, SEA
• Nick Paul, TB
• Jesperi Kotkaniemi, CAR
• Lukas Reichel, CHI
• James van Riemsdyk, BOS
• Filip Zadina, SJ
• Ryan Donato, CHI
• Michael Matheson, MTL
• Jake Sanderson, OTT
• Oliver Ekman-Larsson, FLA
• Nicholas Hague, VGK
• Brock Faber, MIN
• Karel Vejmelka, ARI
• Akira Schmid, NJ

Banger Leagues 

• Adam Larsson, SEA
• Ryan Graves, PIT
• Jamie Oleksiak, SEA
• Arber Xhekaj, MTL
• Jonas Siegenthaler, NJ
• Jake Bean, CBJ
• Marcus Foligno, MIN
• Ryan Reaves, TOR

Consider Dropping 

• Nazem Kadri, CGY
• Pavel Buchnecvich, STL
• Connor Brown, EDM
• Max Domi, TOR
• Viktor Arvidsson, LA
• Zach Werenski, CBJ
• Rasmus Sandin, WAS

These are players I would drop for the players I wrote about above. Kadri I would hold over ROR. 

Week 2 (Oct. 16 – Oct 22)

Four games

Arizona Coyotes (MON @ NYR, TUE @ NYI, THU @ STL, SAT vs ANA)

Sean Durzi, D 

Durzi was all over the Fantasy Hockey Draft Kit, so if you’ve been reading you already have shares as I expect a breakout season. If not, scoop him up because he’ll be owned everywhere very soon. The former King scored a power-play goal in his Arizona debut. He finished with three shots and led all Arizona players in ice time (23:36). He logged 6:57 on the power play. I love Daily Faceoff, but they had Durzi on the second power-play unit, and that’s just not the case. I know this because I watched the Coyotes in the preseason in Melbourne at 4:00 a.m. ET, like a nut!

Barrett Hayton, C

Cooley will be the hot pickup for the Coyotes, but Hayton is still worth holding onto, especially if you play in leagues with shots, hits and faceoff wins. He’s still on the first line with Clayton Keller and still received top power-play time in the first game of the season (6:36). Only his linemates Keller and Nick Schmaltz played more at the forward position in the Coyotes’ opener than Hayton. More in his breakout from last season here.

Logan Cooley, C

Cooley picked up two power-play assists in his NHL debut. He logged 19:02, put two pucks on the net, blocked a shot, threw a hit, and won five faceoffs. The fact that he picked up 5:05 on the power play in his first game is very exciting for his outlook. The Coyotes are no joke. This team will score some goals this season.

Karel Vejmelka, G

Vejmelka has value in leagues that count saves. As mentioned throughout the NHL Betting Guide, the Coyotes are an improved team. You can still get them at +500 to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It’s just one game, but Vejmelka turned aside 33 of the 36 shots he faced against a strong New Jersey Devils team. 

Deep League Adds: Nick Schmaltz, Lawson Crouse (BANGERS), Jason Zucker

Calgary Flames (MON @ WAS, THU @ BUF, FRI @ CBJ, SUN @ DET)

Andrew Mangiapane, W

Two goals, four points, one power-play point, and three shots in two games for Mangiapane. The Flames aren’t going to score a lot of goals this season, but Mangiapane has a chance to score 25+ should he stick with Elias Lindholm and Jonathan Huberdeau. His 35-goal season will go down as an outlier, but I’d bet on 25. He has a decent-looking schedule this week as well. 

Chris Tanev, D 

If you’re looking for blocks in a deep league. I’d grab Noah Hanifin if he’s available though because he can provide blocks and has a much higher offensive ceiling.

Detroit Red Wings (MON @ CBJ, WED vs PIT, FRI @ OTT, SUN vs CGY)

Lucas Raymond, W

Raymond had a quiet first game of the season, but he scored a goal on five shots in his second matchup. Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat have combined for three goals, six points and 20 shots through two games. Raymond isn’t playing on the first PP with Larkin and DeBrincat, but he’s skating at 5v5 with them. Raymond is worth your attention not only this week but for the rest of the season should he stick on the top line. 

David Perron, W

Perron is a candidate to take Raymond’s spot on the top line, but as of now, his linemates are much weaker. He’s playing on the first power-play unit, so he’s worth monitoring in deeper formats. He can provide a few hits and penalty minutes as well. 

J.T. Compher, W

Compher should get C eligibility soon which makes him a bit more appealing, especially in leagues with faceoff wins. I’m not really buying, but he’s off to a good start as he has one goal, three points, a power-play point, three shots, 15 FOW, and three blocks. There seems to be some chemistry between him and Daniel Sprong, who has a goal in each of his first two games with Detroit. 

Daniel Sprong, RW 

Sprong scored a career-high 21 goals and 46 points in 66 games with Seattle last season. He already has two goals with the Red Wings, and although it’s a small sample size, he’s averaging 14:09 compared to 11:25 with the Kraken last year. He pretty much shoots every chance he gets, which is what you want to see (eight shots).

Two games 

• Montreal Canadiens
• New Jersey Devils
• Ottawa Senators
• Pittsburgh Penguins
• St. Louis Blues 

Alex Newhook is on my shortlist, but I don’t think you need to rush to the waiver wire to grab him as the Habs only play twice this week. No timeline on Kirby Dach’s injury, but he can be dropped in 12-team leagues. I’d hold Nick Suzuki and Michael Matheson. You’re keeping everyone on the Devils, Senators and Penguins. That includes making sure Reilly Smith is owned and Drake Batherson is held onto. Josh Norris is a solid stash if you can afford to place him on IR. Jordan Kyrou and Justin Faulk are the only STL players I have shares of. Those are the only two I want to have shares of. 

Attack The Schedule 

• Monday – 5 Games
• Tuesday – 9 Games
• Wednesday – 2 Games
• Thursday – 12 Games
• Friday – 2 Games
• Saturday – 15 Games
• Sunday – 2 Games

It’s all about Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The following teams have the most games on those days. If you’re looking to stream, target Calgary and Detroit because they not only play the most on those odd days, they have four games in Week 2.

• Calgary Flames (MON, THU, FRI, SUN)
• Columbus Blue Jackets (MON, FRI, SAT)
• Detroit Red Wings (MON, WED, SAT, SUN)
• New Jersey Devils (MON, FRI)
• Washington Capitals (MON, WED, SAT)

Back-to-Backs

• Anaheim Ducks
• Arizona Coyotes
• Boston Bruins
• Calgary Flames
• Columbus Blue Jackets
• Detroit Red Wings
• New York Islanders

Semyon Varlamov is usually a solid stream.  It’s not the best spot as he’ll either play the Devils or Sabres.

Weekend Streams 

These three teams play on Saturday and Sunday.

• Arizona Coyotes
• Boston Bruins
• Detroit Red Wings

Buy Low Candidates 

• Jason Robertson, DAL
• Tage Thompson, BUF
• Alex Ovechkin, WAS
• Alex Tuch, BUF
• Miro Heiskanen, DAL
• John Carlson, WAS
• Igor Shesterkin, NYR
• Connor Hellebyuck, WPG
• Joonas Korpisalo, OTT

Sell High Candidates

• Brock Boeser, VAN
• Evgeni Malkin, PIT
• Nicholas Paul, TB
• Colton Sissons, NSH
• James van Riemsdyk, BOS
• Daniel Sprong, DET
• Jordan Binnington, STL
• Mackenzie Blackwood, SJ
• Tristan Jarry, PIT

I’d hang onto Malkin, but I’d definitely let my league-mates know he’s available. Boeser is a stud when he’s on the ice, but injuries have been an issue for him. Your league likely isn’t interested in anyone else mentioned above, but they can be packaged in deep formats.